Rendering of Esplanade Aventura, the open-air shopping complex coming to the former home of Sears adjacent to Aventura Mall in late 2019. (Seritage Growth Properties)

The project, first proposed by Sears in 2014, now calls for an open, 215,000-square-foot space encompassing retail, dining and entertainment along a pedestrian boulevard and outdoor plazas. Many of the retailers will be new to South Florida or to the U.S., and most restaurants will be affiliated with well-known chefs, said Benjamin Schall, Seritage’s CEO.

THE PLAN CALLS FOR A WALKABLE BOULEVARD, CHEF RENOWNED RESTAURANTS, LARGE OUTDOOR PLAZAS, AND SOME RETAILERS THAT ARE NEW TO THE SOUTH FLORIDA MARKET OR NEW TO THE U.S. ALTOGETHER.

Under the plan, the current Sears building will be demolished. The project, approved by the City of Aventura in December, is slated to break ground Friday.

The design follows the trend in retail toward more immersive shopping experiences — already seen in South Florida at venues like Brickell City Centre and CityPlace Doral. Seritage hopes it will also tap into an already robust retail market in Aventura.

Zach Winkler, senior vice president of retail brokerage at JLL, said the positioning of the project, with the mall as a potential anchor and centrally located in Aventura, will likely prove advantageous.

“If they can do something that creates that community feel where it becomes more of a community hub, there are a lot of people that will choose that over an enclosed mall,” Winkler said.